Dr J. Stuart Fair

Dr J. Stuart Fair, the first lay Chairman of the University Court, has died in Edinburgh at the age of 76, following a long illness.

Dr Fair was a long-time champion of the University of Dundee and an outstanding public servant in the city, fulfilling roles as varied as Chairman of the then Dundee Teaching Hospitals Trust and Vice-Chairman of Tayside Health Board, President of the Chamber of Commerce, chairman of the Port Authority, and an Honorary Sheriff. He was awarded a CBE for his services to healthcare.

This was all in addition to his distinguished career as a lawyer, where he helped build the Dundee-based company Thorntons WS into a major law firm before retiring as a senior partner.

His links to Dundee University began with roles as a part-time lecturer in Taxation and a tutor in Professional Ethics. His more public service to the University came when he was co-opted to Court in 1983. He went on to play important roles in examining the governance of the University and establishing a Medical Ethics Committee, and he eventually became Chair of Court in March 1990, serving in that position until July 1993. He was awarded an honorary degree from the University in 1994, one of a number of such honours he received from several institutions.

Dr Fair was also a keen supporter of Graduates' Council, the musical activities of students and for art within the University. He also maintained a long association with the Ninewells Cancer Campaign and was a stalwart supporter of fundraising across a wide range of charitable activities, partly through membership of the James Caird Travelling Scholarship and the Janet Leng Memorial Trust.